Life is a Fairy Tale
by HayleyComet
Summary: Legend of the Sidekick: Ocarina of Time. When Ganon first places the curse on the Great Deku Tree, Maria does her best to keep it at bay. Except she can't cure it - it's not her job. Her job, as foretold by the legend, is to help Link, to keep him alive so he can vanquish the evil in Hyrule. Unfortunately, that turns out to be harder than she'd ever imagined it would be.
1. A Meeting of Heroes

**Legend of the Sidekick **

**Life is a Fairy Tale**

* * *

**The Gem of the Forest**

A Meeting of Heroes

A young girl sat deep within the canopy of the Great Deku Tree, legs dangling either side of a withered, grey branch. Her hands glowed a brilliant green, and as she moved them over the place where the sick, grey bark met the healthy brown bark the sickness slowed its subtle creep.

She wiped her brow weakly, climbing to her feet and leaping nimbly to the next branch along. She wished she was older, bigger, more powerful. Her tiny life force wasn't nearly enough to help her friend the way she should be able to. She had been at this for days, methodically slowing the unending slog of disease that was threatening the life of her oldest friend. Heal one branch, move to the next. On and on, endlessly tiring and ultimately futile. Frustration bubbled in her chest as she looked at the dried leaves floating to the floor on the other side of the clearing. Yesterday's work was already being undone - the moment she rested it seemed like the curse doubled in strength.

She had mixed ointments and balms, pruned dead extremities and infected limbs, scraped away rotten bark, and given nutrients to his soil, and nothing was significantly effective. She had reduced herself to draining her own life force to keep him alive, and it was all she could do not to fall out of the canopy. It was unsustainable, and they both knew it.

Halfway through her next treatment, the Great Deku Tree looked up at her, bark creaking into a comforting smile. "Dear Maria, you know as well as I that this cannot go on. I am loath to say it, but we must accept that Ganon has succeeded here; I will not survive long enough to protect this forest from his influence."

Maria said nothing, concentrating only on finishing her task. Once she was satisfied, she dropped silently from the branch, legs barely managing to catch her fall before she crumpled to the ground. The Great Deku Tree followed her movement closely, watching with an unreadable expression as she knelt before him in the dirt.

"I," her voice cracked uncomfortably and she spent a moment clearing it. "I promise you, I am trying my hardest. I won't leave you, not like this. Not while you still have those... parasites" she spat the word venomously "roaming around inside you. Right now I'm the only one that can help!"

"But you must realise that you are not." The Great Deku Tree sighed heavily, and his thick canopy shook tremulously with the movement. "You must find the boy without a fairy and help him."

"Great Deku Tree, I will not leave you, not now you are in such pain. Send Navi, I will keep a close eye on him through her and remain here to keep the sickness at bay."

The Great Deku Tree closed his eyes and shook out his branches stiffly, his sigh a gust of wind that blew his fallen canopy up into the air to swirl

"I shall do so, but Maria, know this: my time is not much longer for this world. A great peril reaches ever closer, and it is one that I cannot shield you from. You must do everything in your power to ensure that there is balance between the forces of the world, do you understand?"

Maria's hand gently traced the rough bark of the great tree's trunk. "Yes."

"Good," was the soft reply, and his movement stilled once more.

Maria closed her eyes in frustration, unwilling to leave her mentor's side. After a steadying breath, she brought her hands to her chest, cupped them together. A moment passed, and she opened them to reveal the brilliant light of a fairy.

"Navi, it is time. Find the lonely boy, Link, and bring him to me."

The tiny fairy bobbed excitedly in her palms, the softest touches sending fluttering feelings of warmth shooting through her arms. She offered Navi a smile and watched silently as she fluttered away, in search of a young boy dressed in green.

:-:-:-:-:

Splitting her attention between the Great Deku Tree and Navi's search for the boy was more difficult than she expected. Maria spent the night with one eye on her work and the other on the small village Navi was exploring in search of the hero.

By the time Navi was flying up a long ladder to the tallest treehouse the sun had long dawned, and the Kokiri children were pointing and whispering about the lone fairy fluttering through the village. She burst into the treehouse, with as much presence as a one-inch ball of light could have, and excitedly looped around the air above the sleeping boy's face.

Paused in her work, Maria watched the child through Navi's eyes. He wore forest green garb of the Kokiri and had brilliant blonde hair that flopped over his face, obscuring her view of him. He looked like a child, and though the Great Deku Tree had told her he was special, Maria couldn't quite bring herself to believe it.

Link was overjoyed to be woken by a fairy, though in Maria's opinion it took a worryingly long time for her to do so. It was quite a shock to open his eyes to such a bouncy ball of light, but he had been waiting so long for this day he couldn't stop the grin that crept over his face. He couldn't wait to show Navi off to his friends - they would finally have to stop teasing him!

Maria directed Navi to lead him to the Great Deku Tree and turned her attention back to healing. She wasn't overly impressed by his naivete, but he did take Navi's rambling demands enviously easily in his stride.

Link's trek through the village was short, though he was stopped numerous times as the children congratulated him on his fairy. He glanced around hopefully, looking for the vibrant green hair of his best friend, Saria, but by the time he'd reached the Great Deku Tree Passage he still hadn't caught sight of her.

He gave Mido a wave as he approached. Surely now he had a fairy he wouldn't be so standoffish? His hopes were quickly dashed as Mido threw an arm across the path.

Much to Maria's annoyance, no matter how much Link pleaded, Mido the Insufferable blocked him from leaving the village. Sure, he could probably do with some way of defending himself, but it was clear Mido was more concerned with petty jealousy than Link's safety.

"Navi," Maria signed. "There is a legend of an old sword that used to belong to the Kokiri, it's hidden somewhere in the village. I've heard those Know-It-All-Brothers talk about it, and they run the Kokiri Training grounds. I'm sure you could buy a shield from the shop, they're used quite a lot on expeditions into the Lost Woods."

There was a faint buzz of acknowledgement in the back of her head, and Navi began leading the boy back across the village in search of the equipment he needed.

Link trudged determinedly after Navi, a gleam in his eye. The Deku Tree had summoned him for a reason, he needed to get through somehow. But where was he going to get a sword from? Navi had led him to the Training Grounds, and he quickly clambered over the fence after her.

"I don't think the Know-It-All Brothers have a real sword, Navi. The one they use is just wooden." Link muttered, taking a half-hearted swing at the practice post. He thought for a moment about taking the wooden practice sword from them, but felt so guilty he had to abandon that line of thought.

"I don't think I'm supposed to go in there, Navi," Link frowned as the tiny fairy danced around the so-called 'Hole of Z'. "Mido's been through it before and he said it's full of terrible monsters - hey!"

He ran over as Navi disappeared through the hole in the wall, terrified of losing his fairy so soon. Holding his breath, he crawled into the tiny tunnel, batting hanging vines away from his face. It didn't take long before he reached the end of the tunnel, and he staggered to his feet, brushing the dirt from his knees.

"Okay, Navi, I'm through - now can we please get out of-"

"Look out!" His fairy flew past him in a flash, and Link was horrified to see her fleeing from a gigantic boulder easily three times his size, which was now bearing down on his with incredible speed.

Maria could only watch in abject horror as Link narrowly avoided being flattened by the gigantic boulders that rolled around the Z Clearing. He was a fast runner, she'd give him that, but there were more than a few close calls as he collected the Kokiri Sword. It's not like it was going to help him against a big rock, after all.

Link breathed a sigh of relief as he dragged himself back into the village, legs trembling with tiredness from running in circles for so long. He hadn't paid enough attention and it had taken an embarrassing amount of circuits to find the exit. Thank goodness no one had been there to see him do it.

Sword now tucked firmly into his belt, he sat down heavily for a rest and opened his rupee bag to count his money. He was fascinated with rupees, and since he didn't have much use for them, living in the woods and all, and he'd collected every one he came across, he had quite the hoard.

He spent the time it took to get his breath back counting every last one of the tiny gems and ended up at a meagre count of thirty-six.

"What do you think, Navi?" He asked, tipping them all back into his pouch.

She hummed for a second then fluttered off away from the training ground.

"Oh, not again," Link huffed, getting to his feet to follow after her. But before he had gone too far she returned, screeching to a halt in front of his face.

"Tami says shields are forty rupees at the shop!" She landed on his head and made herself comfortable in the folds of his hat. "She also told me that Teri told her that Mido is making Kotu pull the weeds out in front of his house, _and_ that Kotu's willing to pay someone else to do it for him!"

Link blinked, processing her breathless speech. "Er, thanks Navi," he said, scratching at his chin. "One question - who's Tami? Actually- two questions, who's Teri?"

Navi snuggled down into Link's hat, confident he could figure his current problem out on his own. "Tami is Shino's fairy, and Teri is Kotu's, obviously."

"Oh, obviously," Link mumbled, turning to head to Mido's house. A moment later there was a sharp tug on his ear- "sorry Navi."

True enough, when he got to Mido's he spotted a very grumpy Kotu who was more than happy to give him 'one of those weird shiny rocks' for Link's efforts in weeding the garden.

Fortunately for Link, most of the Kokiri children didn't express much interest in money, and were happy to give any rupees they found away. Unfortunately, they often gave them away to the one Kokiri who had an obsession with the tiny things; Shino, who ran the local shop.

Link couldn't help his nervous stammer as he spoke to Shino. He'd never had much reason to interact with the hoarding Kokiri; the limits of his spending were buying Deku sticks to roast meat on. He knew from Navi's flustered fluttering that there was something wrong, but as he handed over his day's earnings for the last shield left in stock, he couldn't quite work out what.

Maria could do nothing but watch in agony as Link was swindled into paying full price for a splintered wooden shield. The moment he'd tipped the contents of his wallet onto the counter, the greedy shopkeeper's eyes had lit up like two glimmering rupees, and he took Link for all he had. She groaned aloud, promising herself she would give them both a piece of her mind.

"That boy... are you sure he is the one?" She looked up sceptically from where she was tending to the Great Deku Tree's roots, though her question elicited nothing more than a smile from him.

Eventually, after an entire day of Link running around the village, Maria finally watched him successfully out-talk Mido and leave the safety of the village, taking on the winding passage to the Great Deku Tree with proud determination. She had seen him practise with nothing more than a wooden sword, but to his credit, he managed to dispatch the Deku Baba attempting to bite chunks out of him with little drama.

By the time he made it into the meadow, the sun had lowered far from its apex in the sky, the beginnings of dim orange tendrils of dusk creeping across the forest floor. Maria leant forward on her branch, finally getting a good look at the boy in person as he conversed somewhat haltingly with the Great Deku Tree.

He looked small - smaller than her even - and scruffy. His clothes were muddied and he had some sort of dried goop coating his boots in purple ichor. Maria waited for the Great Deku tree's speech to finish before she dropped out of his branches, landing scant feet from the boy.

"Link, was it?" she hummed, leaning uncomfortably close to his now prone form. There was a shallow puncture wound in his right shoulder, surrounded by more goop. "Deku Baba really are pieces of work, huh?" she mused quietly, reaching out to touch the wound. There was an intense feeling of heat on his shoulder, and when she drew her hand away Link saw that the skin was now flawlessly healed over.

"Th-thanks," he stuttered, staring in wide-eyed awe at the girl hovering above him.

"Well come on then, up you get." She hauled him to his feet with a surprisingly firm grip on his hand and brushed him down lightly. "I'm Maria. I'll be watching over the Great Deku Tree from the outside while you purge the source of the poison."

Without waiting for a response, she gave a swift, shallow bow, and with a parting word of good luck climbed nimbly back into the Great Deku Tree's branches to resume her work.

The rumble of the Great Deku Tree's voice came to a close, and his whole being shifted and quaked as he opened his mouth wide enough to let Link access his hollow trunk. As long as he had to keep the entrance open for Link he was weak, and Maria could already feel the surge of sickness trying to consume him.

Gritting her teeth, she set to work doing what she could, wincing at every creak and groan coming from the near petrified tree. Sweat drenched her brow as she held the sickness at bay for a further futile hour before the Great Deku Tree groaned loudly. No words escaped his open mouth, but the knots in his bark seemed to tighten and his canopy drew smaller, held closer to his trunk.

"What is it?" Maria yelled, running wildly along the branch she was restoring to run her hands over his rough trunk. "Please, tell me how to help you?"

She could feel an intense buzzing at the nape of her neck, and the sight of a distressed Navi followed shortly after, her bright light burning dancing spots in her vision. Maria snatched the tiny fairy out of the air, holding her close to her face as she tried to make out the words she was shouting. "Help! Hurt! Help! Hurt! Help-"

No matter how much Maria pleaded, those were the only words she could make out as Navi became more and more distressed.

"Maria!" The Great Deku Tree's voice was soft as a whisper but loud enough to shake her to her bones. "Help Link! Now!"

"But you'll die if I leave now!" She cried, clutching Navi to her chest and leaning heavily against his trunk.

"It is time, Maria. You must go."

Maria gritted her teeth and leapt from her perch, landing heavily on the greying grass surrounding his gnarled roots. Trembling wildly, her hands traced a shimmering pattern into the grass before his cavernous mouth, and with a final longing glance up at her old friend, darted after Navi's blinding light.

* * *

**A/N: Welcome! Welcome to the first chapter of the first story of the series I've been writing for ooh, half a decade? I can't believe it's taken me this long to post something, honestly.**

**Anyway, this is Legend of the Sidekick: Ocarina of Time, and it centres around Maria, who's part of the legend just like Link, Zelda and Ganon. Hopefully, you'll find she's not your regular old OC, but I won't spoil anything - I'll let you find out as the story goes on.**

**There'll be a few things that aren't quite right as I'm trying to flesh the game world into a believable one, and I'll prioritise good storytelling over perfect adherence to canon any day, but OoT is my absolute favourite Zelda game, so I'll certainly do my best to stay faithful while giving you a good story.**

**I have the next few chapters pre-written, so I expect I'll post a new chapter every 1-2 weeks.**

**Thank you for reading, here's to the Legend of Mar- the Legend of the Sidekick!**

**Ciao!**


	2. The Gem of the Forest

**The Gem of the Forest**

Dodgy Deals and The Death of an Era

The inside of the Great Deku Tree was cavernous, and Maria scarcely knew where to look first. It looked like there were nuts scattered everywhere, the broken remains of Deku Baba, and splintered wood littering the floor. Before she could move more than a few steps into the room something lunged at her, whatever it was aiming for her head. She yelped and ducked into a roll, and the thing's wide jaws snapped together on thin air with a disgusting wet crunch. Navi fluttered over, her cast light illuminating a bulbous purple tongue and sharp teeth. Oh, how she hated Deku Baba. Leaping to her feet, she twirled around it and launched a kick at its writhing head. A small shockwave pulsed outward from her foot and the carnivorous plant dropped to the floor with a squelch.

Brushing excess dust off herself, Maria roughly yanked the Deku Stick from its body, running her hand over it to fix any cracks, and slipped it safely into her sash. She took a calming breath and checked nothing else was around before continuing to creep through the room, just as quickly but a little more cautiously this time.

Directly in front of her was what looked like the smouldering remains of a gigantic spider's web. Coughing lightly at the acrid smoke filling her lungs, Maria inched forward to peer into the large hole, waving the smoke away. The drop was so huge she couldn't see the bottom - it looked like it led into the Deku Tree's cavernous root system. Working her way around the hole, Maria accidentally kicked a still hot torch, which clattered down the hole, landing with a very faint splash a few seconds later. Water was a soft landing at least, she supposed.

It looked like Link had gone this way, then. Squinting through the haze, Maria spotted a thick cluster of vines clinging to the edge of the hole that appeared to follow the wall all the way down to the bottom. Testing her weight first, she tentatively lowered herself onto the vines, holding her breath nervously.

They held firm, so Maria scuttled down them as quickly as she could, trying to ignore the nasty squelching feeling of the poisoned vegetation under her hands. It looked like she was nearly at the bottom, and she could just about see that the narrow vertical tunnel opened up into a wide circular room filled with water and sparse wooden platforms.

As she was eyeing her landing point, she heard a nasty clicking noise from below, and a glance directly down revealed a giant, gleaming golden spider charging at her, it's pincers clacking menacingly. She shrieked and kicked out at it, but in her panic lost her grip on the vines and began a short tumble into the shallow waters below, trying desperately to kick the _thing_ away from her.

She landed with a noisy splash and scrambled to find some form of solid ground and get away from whatever might be in the water. Presumably safe from the pests, she lay on her back for a moment, trying to regain her bearings. Grimacing at the taste of the water, Maria got to her feet unsteadily, wringing the water out of her braids and clothes. From the corner of her eye, she spotted another golden glint, and she swung out with her Deku Stick as another bug launched itself at her.

The stick connected with a resounding crack and the bug slammed into the dirt floor. Maria knelt down to examine it, prodding at it's hard, golden body gently.

"Since when do Skulltula _jump_?" She grumbled, turning it over. It _was _a very pretty golden colour. And it seemed to emit a strange feeling - not unlike the curse affecting the Deku Tree. Wrinkling her nose, she scooped it up and stuffed it into her pack to examine later, then leant over the edge of the platform to fish the floating body of the other one out of the water.

She hadn't been in the Deku Tree for more than a few minutes, but already she could feel his life force waning. Navi fluttered around her face erratically, then darted off into the darkness. Right, Link needed her help. Like, five minutes ago. Focusing on Navi, she allowed her body to turn in the direction of her friend.

Across the other side of the room, there was a column of the same smoke from the entrance pouring out of a little alcove. Maria judged the gap and launched herself across the water to the other side of the room, catching the platform and pulling herself to her feet easily. Flames still licked at the edges of the hole, so she presumed it hadn't been long since Link had burnt his way through.

Maria took a deep breath and peered into the hole. There was very little in the tiny space other than a much smaller hole in the floor, which a quick check revealed to lead to yet another pool of water. "Oh, not another one," she groaned, but gathered her courage and with a deep breath leapt forward after the distressed hero.

She landed lightly in another deep pool of water, and couldn't help the stream of irritated grumbling coming from her mouth as she swam over to the edge to haul herself out of the water. Directly in front of her were three unconscious Deku Scrubs, and Deku Nuts again littered the floor. She quieted as she tiptoed past the unmoving creatures, careful not to rouse any of them.

She knew she needed to get to Link soon, but Deku Scrubs weren't bad guys - not really. They just tended to be territorial little nuisances, and who knew what would happen to them with the Great Deku Tree in this state. Besides, she could do with some allies down here.

Turning back to the largest one, she knelt down quietly, holding her hands above his snout. Her hands glowed a dull green, and she resisted the urge to flinch back as the scrub's beady eyes flew open, instead she leant forward to pin it to the floor.

"Hey, scrub!" She hissed. "I'm in a bit of a pickle here and you like deals, so how about we make one? I have a feeling I'm about to walk into a bit of a dicey situation, so how about I heal you and your friends, and you all watch my back?"

The scrub moved nothing but its eyes, blinking them slowly.

"Excellent," Maria released it carefully, lifting her hands away and stepping back. The scrub shook itself roughly, rustling the leaves on its head. It hopped cautiously around her and over to its brother, eyes narrowed pointedly.

Maria grinned, darting over to the two remaining scrubs and running her hands over their bodies carefully. The second they were all awake, the large one she had originally helped let out a loud screech and the three darted for their nests.

"Hey!" Maria shouted, diving to stop them but the one she'd reached for easily slipped through her outstretched arms and disappeared under the ground. She stomped over to one of the nests and toed the leaves there with her boot, but there was no sign of movement.

"You're welcome!" She grumbled at the floor. "You swindling scrubs."

Cursing the wasted time, Maria picked her speed up into a jog, and the twisted root of a corridor soon came to a crooked archway, sagging and dripping something slimy from the centre.

She ducked down to walk through it and froze at the sight in front of her. A gigantic arachnid was circling on the ceiling above Link. Its body was seemingly made up of one gigantic eye, six hairy, double-jointed legs causing a loud skittering noise as it spun on the wooden ceiling. What looked like two large stingers hovered above her, twitching and dripping liquid into steaming puddles on the floor. Its eye swivelled, locked onto the unmoving body of Link.

"Gohma! Gohma! Gohma!" Navi was bouncing above him, trying futilely to direct his attention toward something more useful than standing still.

"Link, move!" Maria screeched, a little less cooly than she'd admit when she retold the events later and lunged forward just as the arachnid struck.

Link's vision was tunnelled, he could focus only on the blood-red eye and waving stingers of the thing in front of him. He tried to step backwards, but he couldn't bring himself to move in case he took his gaze off the monster for a second. He could hear Navi's distressed chattering in his ear, but it felt far away - her bright light was barely registering in his periphery as she danced around his head.

What was that? Did someone just say his name? There was a horrible screech from the monster above him and he felt his mind stop working. Move. _Move_. **Move.**

A weight barrelled into him from the side and Link could only watch as the young girl he'd met just once threw herself in front of the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen, shoving him bodily out of the way of its strike.

"Maria?" His voice shook, but the spell was broken, he was moving.

"Ow," Maria coughed, sticky red blood leaking through the hand she was pressing to her shoulder. "That really hurts." She was sprawled on the floor, but at the monster's screech, Maria scrambled backwards, almost running over Link. "If you could actually move next time, that'd be great," she hissed, and the two of them got to their feet just in time to dodge out of the way of another lunge.

The sound of her own heavy breaths were deafening, and Maria could already feel the toxins taking effect in her body. Faintly, there were a dozen splattering sounds, and as she looked around the dim room she could see - eight, ten, twelve - miniature versions of the monster above them emerge from squishy white sacs.

"Goddesses!" She breathed, pulling her Deku Stick from her sash. "You get the big mama, I'll take care of these!" She yelped, and she and Link dashed off in opposite directions.

Maria had to focus not to be distracted by the piercing clangs of Link's sword on natural armour, followed by the unearthly screeches of the monster. She ran circles around the room, sweeping her impromptu staff through the disturbingly fast bodies of the monster's larvae.

"It's not working!" Link yelled over to her, "I can't hit it!"

Maria finished another circuit and came to a stop next to him. "Me neither, more of these things are dropping than I can kill!" She spared a moment to kick one scuttling at them and flipped her hair out of her face.

"Hey!" The two of them looked up, startled, to see Navi fluttering around their heads. Once she got their attention, she darted up to the ceiling, where Maria was horrified to spot hundreds of wriggling sacs, presumably full of yet more larvae.

"I think I'm going to be sick" she mumbled, skipping backwards out of the reach of the monster's attack. Link blocked the stinger from catching her again, and as she turned to thank him, she spotted Navi fluttering around the slingshot on his hip. "That's brilliant, Navi! Link, can I borrow that?"

Without waiting for an answer, she yanked the slingshot from the cord securing it to Link's waistband and grabbed a heaping handful of Deku Seeds. It was small enough that she could use it without straining her shoulder too much, and she immediately got to work shooting down the larvae clinging to the ceiling.

"That's all well and good, but what am I supposed to do about this?" Link's panicked voice brought Maria back to him, and she grimaced at his tired form.

"Hey! Weak spot!" Navi's voice echoed in the back of Maria's head, and she watched carefully as the fairy danced around the glowing eye of the arachnid.

Maria and Link shared a look, and with a grin, Maria shot a Deku Nut directly into the eye of the monster. A deafening screech filled the room and with a thunderous crash, it hit the floor, it's eye rolling dazedly around in its head.

"Nice! You get that thing, I'll get these!" Maria yelled, running around with the staff to keep the larvae off Link's back while he hacked desperately at the monster.

Another screech filled the room, and it scrambled to its feet, blindly lashing out with its tail as it scrabbled back to the safety of the ceiling.

"I think it worked!" Link called out, rotating his shoulder painfully. The two shared a grin, finding their feet in the fight. It was a few minutes before Link found another opening, and on the cry of "Maria!" she aimed again for the bloody red eye.

The same horrific screech and deafening crash followed her shot, and she watched with bated breath as Link weaved in between the scrabbling legs to try and hit Gohma's spinning eye again.

A squelching, ripping sound echoed around the cavernous room and Maria gripped her stick tightly, whipping her head around in every direction to find the source of the sound.

"Larvae!" Navi yelled and Maria flinched back, raising her stick to guard her head. As she did, she got a look at the ceiling, and couldn't hold back a scream. The wriggling sacs that had been dropping occasionally looked like they'd been disturbed by Gohma's last crash to the floor, and were all hanging limp and empty, torn sections dropping wetly to the floor.

Maria ran toward Link as they descended, crawling down the walls and dropping from the ceiling in swarms. She swung the stick like a bat, sweeping tens of the parasites away from Link as he tried to keep Gohma under control.

Surrounded by larvae and backing up to Link, Maria swung wildly to keep them all at bay. A sharp crack sounded when her swing met unusual resistance, and she watched in horror as her stick snapped over the armour-plated leg of Gohma.

Now her weapon was only half the size Maria found herself overwhelmed, resorting to kicking the bugs away from her in desperation.

"Any time, Link!" She yelped, feeling the sharp feet of one clambering up her leg. She whimpered, desperately trying to bat them off her.

She could feel the air from the clack of its pincers on her cheek and had just resorted to the idea of life without a face when something collided with it with a heavy smack.

Several thunks followed, and Maria gasped for breath as she watched those nearest to her slump lifelessly to the floor. She scrambled for the slingshot and a Deku Nut, eyes narrowed as she looked for the source of the projectiles.

Navi was dancing around on the opposite side of the chamber, darting out of the way of pincers and leading a large group of the larvae in circles after her light.

At the edges of her area, Maria could just see two glowing eyes and a rustle of leaves, and her eyes widened as a Deku Nut flew directly toward her. She hit the floor and grinned to herself, rolling over in time to see the body of one of the larvae fly away from her.

One of the scrub's eyes closed in a wink, and Maria let out a laugh of relief. She'd landed right where the two halves of her stick had rolled, and she snatched them up quickly, pressing the halves together to meld them back into one weapon.

With three offensive fronts, they quickly wiped out the swarm of larvae, and Maria was able to turn in time to watch Link sink his sword up to the hilt into the monster's eye, sweating profusely.

There was a moment of stillness, a shudder, and then the huge arachnid crashed limply to the floor, its twin stingers flopping uncomfortably close to Maria's face.

"Yes!" Maria crowed, racing over to wrap Link in a hug. He blushed beet red but laughed with her, gently patting her on the shoulder. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

He shrugged a little, and Maria checked him over briskly, noting his frequent winces.

"Well, if you don't mind finishing off those irritating little things I'll finish up here and get us out."

Link watched in part horror part fascination as the smaller girl walked calmly up to the carcass and placed her hands on Gohma's side.

"What are you doing?" He wondered aloud, sweeping the floor clear of the pests.

Maria opened her mouth to respond but before she could, there was a terrible creaking sound from above them. "No time to explain, just trust me."

She closed her eyes and grit her teeth, and before Link's eyes, the huge body of the monster began crumbling, seemingly disintegrating into thin air until all that was left was a bright green ball of energy between Maria's hands. A moment later, the green light faded and Maria was left holding a vaguely heart-shaped object.

"This is for you, congratulations," she smiled wryly, offering the object to the mildly horrified boy.

"What is it?"

"It's this creature's life force. It takes a lot out of me but it will make you stronger, and I have a feeling you're going to need all the strength you can get."

He reached tentatively for it, taking it in his hands. It felt wrong, to hold something's being in his hand - to consume it. He looked nervously to Maria and she smiled encouragingly, bringing her cupped hands to her chest. Mimicking the gesture, he pressed the glowing red light against the cloth of his tunic.

For a moment he felt an intense heat, almost pain, and then his body was awash with euphoria. All of his injuries were gone, his puncture, scrapes and slashes - if anything he felt stronger than before. Maria also looked a little perkier, though the lines of exhaustion were heavy on her face.

"Good job, Navi!" Maria grinned as the tiny fairy flew over to the two of them. "You were a real help!" Link nodded enthusiastically.

"Thanks for getting help - I'd have been done for without you two," he held his hand out for Navi to land on and tucked her gently into the collar of his tunic.

"Actually we had a little more help," Maria gestured toward the back of the chamber. "Thank you all, we really appreciate it." The faint rustling sound of leaves grew louder, and from the shadows emerged the three Deku Scrubs, the largest leading the trio.

He was quiet for a moment, sniffing the air carefully before he made his way over to them. "A deal's a deal, sunshine. Thanks for helping my brothers out." The three shuffled closer together. "Think you could give us a hand getting out of here? We used to be able to burrow through but Gohma's done something funny to the Deku Tree."

Maria smiled sadly and gestured for them to join her and Link.

"Time to go," she grunted, moving to trace a circular pattern on the ground. "Stand on that - Navi you too." She waited until all six of them were safe in the circle before clapping her hands and spreading her fingers before her. This time the green glow erupted from the circular markings, and they were caught up in the rush of light.

Link could feel his toes lift from the floor, and for a minute he felt both weightless and a heavy pressure from all sides like he was suspended in a lake of treacle. His vision faded to black, though seemingly instantaneously he was stood in front of the Great Deku Tree.

"What in Hyrule?" he yelped, staggering slightly when his toes touched down in the soft grass. Maria smiled wanly, falling onto her butt into the meadow. She could hear the Great Deku Tree talking, and she struggled to keep her eyes open, to listen to him, but it was all she could do to focus on his gigantic face moving. She watched with narrowed eyes as a large emerald floated down from his dense canopy.

A shake of his branches dislodged a second object - one which fell to the ground far less carefully than the emerald. "I couldn't possibly send you off into the dangers of the world without your own weapon, dear - take the Deku Staff and let it serve you well."

Maria leapt forward to catch the staff in her hands. It was far longer and less wieldy than she usually liked, but it had a good heft and a wonderful smoothness. And it smelt exactly like the Great Deku Tree.

"Great Deku Tree," her voice was hoarse. "You swore to protect the emerald until the day you die - you can't die, not now when we need you!"

"My dear Maria, you have taken wonderful care of me but I am afraid my time is at an end. I am not the one most capable of protecting the Kokiri Emerald, that duty now must fall to those better equipped." He smiled widely. "Good luck on your quest, young heroes. Don't let Kokiri Forest - no, don't let Hyrule fall."

It seemed those were his parting words, for even as Maria rushed to help him one last time, the Great Deku Tree gave one final shudder that shook the leaves from his canopy. The grey sickness creeping up his branches reached his trunk, and the two watched in helpless horror as his entire being stilled. The rough wood that was so full of life mere moments ago now stood still, petrified, branches not even moved by the wind.

Maria couldn't contain her sob, pausing in her rush to her friend to clamp a hand over her mouth. "No," she mumbled, "no, no, no, no, **no.**" She stumbled forward again, pressing her hands against his bark, flinching back from the unnatural cold that had set in far too quickly.

She sparked her magic. Her healing did nothing.

The roots were uncomfortable under her knees, but Maria knelt before him, digging her fingers into the earth. She stayed for a while, she couldn't say how long.

"Come on, Maria," Link eventually approached her. "It's time to go."

She sniffled, replacing tear tracks with muddy streaks as she tried to neaten herself up. "Right, yes, of course. Time to go." She brushed the dirt from her hands, her knees. She took one last circuit around the perimeter of his gigantic trunk, stroking roots and pulling weeds until she was happy, then with no further words but a hug of her staff, turned to leave the clearing.

Link watched silently, Navi on his shoulder, as the patch of ground she had been sitting on sprouted thick, colourful wildflowers. He nodded to the once guardian of the forest, and wordlessly followed in Maria's footsteps.

* * *

**A/N: It's been longer than I wanted, but then I've also been busier than I wanted, so hey.**

**I hope more of Maria's personality and purpose is emerging here, I'm trying to give her a role that is useful to the plot and interesting to read. I'm also going to take a few liberties with place descriptions and certain events, but I'll try and stick to canon as much as I can.**

**Hopefully it won't be nearly as long for the next one!**


	3. Far From Home

**The Gem of the Forest**

**Far From Home**

After an emotionally and physically draining day, Maria wanted nothing more than to sleep. She trudged along a few paces in front of Link, listening with half an ear to the quiet chatter of Navi. Every now and then her gaze would linger on a freshly withered tree or a plot of drooping flowers unable to sustain themselves without the Great Deku Tree's influence.

The impact of his absence was already apparent in the immediate area and she dreaded to think how the Kokiri Forest would cope without his guardianship.

She could think of nothing else on the way back to the Kokiri Village, her mood lingering on a gut-wrenching mix of guilt, pity, and dread.

It was Link's startled noise that threw her out of her mood. The two children slowed to a stop as they approached the village, their passage blocked a furious figure.

To say Mido was unhappy with the two of them would be an understatement.

"Mido," Link started, stepping in line with Maria. "Is everybody okay? I have some bad news."

"Oh, you have news do you?" Mido sneered, head tilted back at a hilariously severe angle to look down his nose at them. "You think we haven't noticed what you've done?"

Link spluttered, taken aback by Mido's acerbity. "What we've done? Mido, you don't understand-"

"Oh, so it's just a coincidence that the day you get your fairy the Deku Tree dies?" He cut over Link, stepping closer with a sneer.

"That's the _Great_ Deku Tree to you." Maria scowled over Link's shoulder.

"And who might you be? I notice you don't have a fairy; clearly, you're not welcome here either."

"What a poor excuse for a Kokiri. What would I need a fairy for when I can do this?" She leant around Link, intending to send the stuck up child flying, but Link's firm grip around her waist stopped her.

"Please don't, it's really not worth it," he muttered quietly.

"Not worth it eh?" Mido shouted. "I'll tell you what, if you think for one second you two are going to stay here after what you've done to our home, you can think again!"

"But-" Link tried to interject, stepping back from Mido.

"But nothing, we all agree, we want you two murderers out of our village by sunrise, or you'll have to kill all of us too!"

Link shrunk back, his hands raising defensively in front of him.

"Mido, if you would just let me-"

"-SCRAM!" Mido screamed, then turned around to slump against the rocky wall where he'd stood guarding the Great Deku Tree for as long as Link had known him.

"I think we should go, Link." Maria sighed, looping her arm tentatively through his. "Come on, let's get back to your house, let him cool off a little." As they edged past the fuming Kokiri, Maria couldn't help but notice his quiet snuffling, and even with his face turned away from them she could see tears welling in his eyes and wetting his cheeks, and dark splodges on his sleeves.

The village was as good as abandoned as they walked through it, though Maria could feel eyes on them like the parasitic larvae from earlier. She scratched at her arms as her whole body crawled with the thought of the mini monsters, scanning the village warily.

Link did his best to stay upbeat, pointing out the local shop and training field, but they ultimately fell into an uncomfortable silence as the oppressive quiet surrounded them like a thick blanket.

When they reached his treehouse, Maria waved Link up the ladder first then followed as quickly as she could with limbs like lead. From the small balcony, they could just see the bright red sun setting behind the Lost Woods, and they stood in silence for a moment to watch as its last rays of light fled from the village.

"Okay, Link," Maria gestured for him to go inside. "I think we've got quite a lot to discuss and not a lot of time to do it in."

Link offered her a wan smile, then the two filed into his small hut. Maria all but collapsed onto the rug, groaning deeply at the ache in her limbs. Link fell face-first onto his bed and proceeded to stare blankly at the wall.

"They hate me," he groaned. "They never really accepted me and now, just when I thought I had my own fairy and I could finally be a part of them, they hate me for real."

Maria blinked up at him, unable to see his face with his back turned to her and barely able to make his words out, muffled as they were by the pillow. Navi fluttered worriedly around her head, and Maria gestured awkwardly for her to go to him.

"Link, I know today's been weird and horrible and sometimes disgusting-" she shivered at the thought of Gohma's Larvae, for a second imagining them crawling through the cracks in the woodwork "-but surely you realise that the Kokiri wouldn't ever really accept you. You're not one of them, and neither am I for that matter."

She reached up to poke his shoulder and he flopped over with a huff, pulling his hat down over his eyes. Navi wriggled under the hem and pushed it back off his face, making herself comfortable in the nest of his hair.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but Link, you could never stay here forever. The Kokiri are never going to get older, but you will. They can never leave the forest, but you will! Surely you've noticed already that you're growing and the others aren't?"

"But I don't want to grow up," Link's voice was small, "I want to stay in the forest here forever with my friends."

Maria reached out again to touch his shoulder and this time he didn't roll away. "Is that really what you want? You want to spend your whole life trapped here in this forest with a bunch of children? Never see, taste, or hear anything new?"

Link sighed. "I guess not. I just feel like I've lost my friends for good this time."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that, Link - they'll come around! They just don't know what to think right now, but Kokiri are very forgiving!"

Link squinted down at her cautiously.

"You really think so?" He asked, voice wavering. Maria wasn't so sure, but he looked so pitiful lying there that she found herself cursing the Kokiri and plastering a smile on her face.

"They'll come around, Link. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But they will - you'll see!" She hated herself for lying to him, but it seemed to be cheering him up.

"Besides, I have you and Navi now, right?" He asked cautiously, hands twisting in his blanket."

"You sure do," Maria laughed.

Link sprang up from his prone position, reaching down to help her up and onto the bed next to him.

"You shouldn't be on the floor down there, it'll be way comfier up here on the bed!" He smiled hopefully, and though Maria rolled her eyes she couldn't help but give him one in return.

"Thanks, Link," she grinned. "Okay then, the Great Deku Tree has given us a task. We need to go to the Princess of Hyrule and tell her about Ganon, right?"

Link nodded cautiously, kicking at the sword he'd abandoned at the foot of his bed. "How do you think we're going to manage that? I don't even know where to find the princess!" He moaned despairingly.

"Well, I know she lives in a castle at the other end of Hyrule Field. And once we get close, how hard can it be to find a castle?" Maria shrugged, reaching for her abandoned pack to pull out a loosely rolled scroll.

"See, this is where we are," she pointed to the south of the map, "we're in Kokiri Forest, and we need to get all the way up here," she trailed her finger around the eastern side of the field in a semicircle, following the path that led to a town symbol marked Castle Town. "I've never travelled Hyrule on foot before, but I'm sure it's fairly straightforward."

Link peered at the map intensely, apparently trying to commit it to memory. "Okay," Maria rolled it back up, then stuffed it carefully back into her bag. "You need to pack your things. You won't need much, just a couple of changes of clothes, some food, and your weapons - don't forget those!"

She directed Link to everything she imagined he would need, snagging a few of his tastier provisions for her own bag when his back was turned.

"I think we should sleep here." Link said eventually, bag packed. Maria looked like she might jump in, but he held his hands up defensively. "We might as well, look, there's no point setting off until the morning - especially as we don't know where we're going."

Maria eyed him speculatively, then couldn't stop herself looking at the bed and comparing it to the hard floor they'd inevitably end up sleeping on soon. "Okay," she sighed, removing her bag so she could lie back and snuggling into the mattress, "but remember what they said Link, we have to be gone by sunrise."

Link nodded his agreement and sat at the other end of the bed, leaning back against the wall. Maria had dropped off almost as soon as she'd stopped talking, her mouth open in a snore and her arms clutching tight to the Deku Staff.

It took Link a while longer, but after he took in his room for what felt like the last time he settled on staring out the window where the night stars twinkled invitingly.

He was leaving everything he knew behind, from the room he had finally arranged to his liking to the familiar faces of his friends. He thought of Saria, who he couldn't bear to face, Mido's bright red, puffed up cheeks, the grey, withered form of the Great Deku Tree.

The old, faded rug he'd woven from colourful grasses he found at the border of the lost woods, cups carefully carved from fallen branches, a collection of dried flowers given to him by Saria. Things he might never see again.

But the sound of Maria opposite him was new, as was the light weight of Navi on his head and the warm leather of the Kokiri Sword's hilt which he gripped tightly in his hand. And there was even more to see, to experience beyond his village.

He drifted off uneasily and dreamt of monsters with a thousand eyes and evil kings and glowing girls with wings.

:-:-:-:-:

When Maria woke it was to a stiff neck and a blinding light piercing her eyelids. She gasped and shot up, batting Navi away from her face and rubbing at her eyes. A fairy alarm clock was by far her least favourite way to wake up. Slowly, the dancing lights spotting her vision cleared, and she shifted so she could clearly see out of the window.

The sky was a dark blue, but the beginnings of pinks and purples were starting to light the forest trees, and she knew they were out of time.

"Link," she hissed, leaning forward to shake him. "Link- ow!" She yelped yanking her hand back and kicking out at the boy's sleeping form. "Is that a sword? Are you sleeping with your sword in the bed? What the hell, Link?"

Link's waking was even less pleasant than Maria's - he woke suddenly, scrambling to get away from the furious girl who was aiming another kick at him.

"You slept with your staff!" He defended, tumbling gracelessly out of bed.

"Yes, but my staff doesn't have blades attached to it, for the love of Nayru!" Maria swung her legs out of the bed, sucking at the blood on her finger.

Even though her hand was smarting, she felt entirely better for having properly rested - especially as she had the feeling she wouldn't be sleeping like that for a while.

"Whatever," Link yawned widely, rubbing at his eyes. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you-" he watched in disbelief as the cut on her finger began to seal itself up "-how can you do all that stuff? Are you magic or something?"

Navi had said nothing to them but was flying back and forth between the children and the window, muttering to herself about 'the lazy boy always oversleeping' and pointing aggressively at the lightening sky.

"There isn't time to get into that," Maria wasn't too proud to admit that the cut on her hand had annoyed her, and finished tying her boots without another word, despite Link's babbling, "come on." She picked up his things and shoved them unceremoniously into his arms. "We slept for too long and we really need to go."

Link's protests dried up. His hands froze on his bag for a second, but he shook himself out of his stupor and got to his feet, following Maria out of his house without a word.

The birds were waking, and he listened to the chirping that he'd heard every morning as long as he could remember with a wistful smile.

"Do you think I'll ever see this place again?" He mumbled, leaning gently on his fence and scanning the village. He'd always loved watching the sunset from up here, and he couldn't help but worry that it was a joy he'd unknowingly experienced for the last time.

Maria glanced up at him, her feet already set on the rungs of the ladder. "I'm sure you will in time, Link. Kokiri Village isn't gone, and you can always come back."

With nothing more to say, she disappeared swiftly out of sight, sliding silently down the ladder into darkness.

Link wished he could stay and see the sunrise, wished he'd done it more often when he could still see the comforting branches of the Great Deku Tree towering above all else. But it was impossible to go back, and so he would have to go forward.

Navi's soft light was a welcome comfort, and he made sure she was tucked safely into his hat before he stepped down onto the ladder. He could see Maria's arms waving impatiently below, and with a rueful smile, he began the climb down.

Maria had hoped to leave before the other Kokiri were awake, but as they passed through the quiet village she spotted several of them peering at them from behind trees and houses.

The first few times Link saw them, he attempted to approach and say goodbye, only to have them mysteriously disappear like they were never even there. He tried again and again, but his waves goodbye were ignored, frowned at and turned away from. Face flushed a deep pink, Link settled for stilling his shaking hands by clutching the strap of his bag so tightly his knuckles turned white.

As soon as he stopped trying to talk to them, the quiet hum of gossip as they whispered back and forth got louder, and Link bowed his head to look at the floor. Maria scowled at his so-called friends where he couldn't see her do it and led him out of the village with a hand on his arm, following after Navi's bright trail.

They ducked through the hollow log marking the edge of the village and were just about to step foot on the bridge when they were stopped by a yell.

"Wait! Link, wait!" A girl with bright green hair came stumbling out of the village, panting slightly. "I only just heard that Mido told you to get out, I thought I'd missed you!" She cried, running up to Link.

Link turned to face her in shock, gripping the rope of the bridge. "S-Saria!" He stammered, taken aback. "You're not supposed to leave the village!"

"Well thank the goddesses one of you has some sense," Maria scowled, arms folded. The pair ignored her and ran to each other.

"I always knew that you would leave the village one day... I just never imagined it would be like this." She smiled tearily, clutching something to her chest. "I knew you'd leave because you're different from all of us. But... that's okay, isn't it? Because we'll be friends forever, won't we?"

She held her hands out, and now Link could see that it was a small, wooden ocarina, roughly carved but worn smooth with time.

"Here, I want you to have this. Please take good care of it!"

Link took it from her and examined it closely, his fingers covering the holes experimentally.

"When you play my ocarina, I hope you'll think of me!" Saria smiled, holding her empty hands in front of her as though she was resisting the urge to reach out.

Link said nothing but stumbled backwards. He didn't want to leave his friends- leave Saria behind. But he had to, and if he didn't now then he never would, so he gripped the ocarina tightly and darted away, across the bridge and out of her sight.

Maria sighed helplessly, sharing a sad smile with the girl. "You'll look after him, won't you?" Saria asked, face turned away. "He's special, you know?"

Maria smiled and patted the girl lightly on the shoulder. "I do know, in fact. What else would I be here for?"

She turned away from the solemn girl and followed after Link, not entirely confident he wasn't lost already.

:-:-:-:-:

It wasn't far past the bridge connecting the village to Hyrule Field that the dense forest opened up into a wide, winding path, and Maria and Link were treated to their first view of Hyrule proper.

They were just rounding the corner of the final tree that marked the start of the trail, beginning to point excitedly at what they didn't doubt would be a field full of adventure when their vision was instead filled with dusty brown feathers.

"**Hoo!**"

A giant tawny owl landed with a deafening hoot and a flurry of flapping on a branch just in front of them, and Link and Maria stumbled backwards in fright. Link fumbled for his slingshot, aiming it clumsily, only for Maria to slap his hand back down with a hiss.

"Gah! Oh- Kaepora Gaebora!" Maria yelped, batting feathers out of her face. "I didn't expect to see you here!" She called up at the gigantic bird while gripping Link's arm and pulling him away slightly.

"**Hoot! Yes, yes, look up here!" **He called, flapping his wings proudly. **"It's because the time has finally come for you to start your adventure! You will encounter many hardships ahead... That is your fare. Don't feel discouraged, even during the toughest times!**"

Maria held back a snort at the dazed expression on Link's face and subtly pulled the two of them slightly farther away from the blustery bird.

"What's going on?" Link questioned, turning to look at Maria.

"Shh!" She shushed him, motioning for him to look at the bird.

"**Go straight this way and you will see Hyrule Castle. You will meet a princess there...**"

Maria nudged Link gently with her elbow. "He's always been like this," she whispered conspiratorially. "You just have to let him get it out of his system and he'll be quiet."

"...**If you don't know which way to go, look at the map I gave you earlier. You should be filling it in as you go. Ah yes, there's nothing quite like the joy of a hand-drawn map of your adventures. They tend to be unforeseeably useful, you know! Hoo!**"

Maria leant toward Link again, keeping her eyes locked forward and a fixed smile on her face. "Sometimes he gives you useful information, but honestly the majority of the time he's a droning old windbag.

"Look lively though, if he gets so much as a sniff that you're not paying attention he'll repeat himself until he thinks the message has sunk in."

Link stiffened fearfully, fixing his gaze resolutely on the talkative owl. He could just imagine a pair of half-moon spectacles perched on his face. Although he wasn't sure how they'd stay on - especially when he turned his head upside down. Anyway, weren't owls supposed to turn their heads around, not upside down?

"**Did you get all that?**"

The two jumped to attention and each did their best impression of a nodding dog.

"Uh, yes! Absolutely!" Maria promised, "I've been filling in the map, sir!"

Link shrank back as the owl's beady eyes swivelled to focus on him. "Definitely, uh, sir? Got to see the princess!"

Kaepora Gaebora's head rotated around, presumably to examine them from every perspective, and he gave a hoot of approval.

"**All right then, I'll see you around!**"

Link and Maria gave a cheery wave to the owl, bracing against each other as his energetic takeoff blew them back a step. They watched him fly away, presumably in the direction of Castle Town with a parting "-**hoot hoot hoot ho!**"

"What in Hyrule was that all about?" Link rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"I told you," Maria gave him a nudge and they resumed walking. "That was Kaepora Gaebora."

Link squinted at her and shook his head. "That was a bloody great owl," he muttered under his breath.

"He's certainly... a character," Maria allowed with a smile. "Doesn't mean you have to shoot him for it though," Link flinched away from her pointed look, flushing red as she laughed at him.

Maria rolled her eyes good-naturedly and lifted a hand to point toward the horizon. You can't see it yet, but Hyrule Castle should be over that way! And if you look between those trees, you can just about see where the river runs over there - that's where the Zora live!"

Link spun in a circle, greedily taking in all he could see. "It's so nice to feel the sun out here - is it always this bright?" He asked, shielding his eyes with a hand now the canopy of Kokiri Forest wasn't doing the job for him

Maria tilted her head back to bask in the warm sunlight streaming down upon them. "Usually. Hyrule Field truly is beautiful." She inhaled deeply and curled her toes into the spiky grass.

Link watched, amused, as daisies sprung up between her toes.

:-:-:-:-:

The walk to Hyrule Castle took far longer than either of them anticipated. Maria was used to travelling far faster than Link could manage, but if she was frustrated she didn't show it.

They travelled in relative silence, the initial excitement to be on the road quickly fading as the monotony of the journey took over. With neither child in the mood to strike up a conversation, their thoughts turned inward.

Twenty-four hours before, Link was a normal boy without a fairy. The most pressing thing he had to do was try and convince Saria to explore the Lost Woods with him. Now he had a fairy, and a sword, and the Emerald of the Forest. The Great Deku Tree was dead and all of his friends hated him. How could a boy like him save the world? Why was he even asked to?

Maria ran her hands over the smooth wood of her Deku Staff - it felt just like the Great Deku Tree did. She twitched minutely. How was it possible that her friend was dead? And dead on her watch. Guilt rose up in her like a tidal wave, from the pit of her stomach to her heart, her throat. She felt her face grow hot, felt the pressure build-up behind her eyes and nose until it felt like she was about to burst.

Clearing her throat quietly, she chanced a glance behind her at the sullen figure of Link, walking along the path behind her. She'd been tasked with protecting the hero, it was the thing her whole life had led towards. Maybe it was time to stop dwelling and start working.

They had been walking for hours, only stopping once to sit down and eat their measly lunch, and their figures now cast long shadows behind them as they walked. Up ahead, Maria could finally see the thin spires and turrets of Hyrule Castle.

The rolled-up map of Hyrule was tucked into her bag, and she retrieved it quickly. "Right!" Maria spun around, flourishing the parchment in Link's face. She gestured dramatically to her right, pointing at a large, walled structure. "That looks like it must be Lon-Lon Ranch to me," she trailed a finger along the path they were following on the map with a smile. "That means we're nearly there!"

Link looked up hopefully, squinting at the far-off ranch and the now visible twinkling lights of Hyrule Castle. "You think so?" He asked, speeding up to peer at the map himself.

"I know so!" Maria rolled her map up and bonked him gently on the head with it. "So let's get a move on, Hero!" She glanced at the position of the sun wearily, it had long passed its apex and their shadows were beginning to stretch out behind them. "I don't know about you but I want to get there before the dead of night."

Link grunted in agreement and the two picked up the pace, speeding toward the looming castle.

:-:-:-:-:

"WAIT!" Maria yelled, hands cupped around her mouth. "What are you DOING?"

Link sped past her, sword clanking loudly against his shield as he waved his arms wildly above his head. "Stop!"

The mechanical grinding of gears and creaking of the wooden drawbridge came to an abrupt halt.

Link and Maria ran to the bank of the river and both bent double, breathing heavily. Navi fluttered angrily above them, her bright light drawing attention to them.

The silver glint of a guard's helmet appeared on one of the drawbridge towers. "We're closed!"

"How," Maria panted, "can you be CLOSED?" She stood upright with a groan, waving her fist angrily. "This is a town, not a shop!"

"Sorry kids, when the sun's down, the bridge isn't!" The nasal voice of the guard could only just be heard over the whistle of the wind. "It's too dangerous at night!"

"But it's only _nearly_ dark!" Maria yelled. "The bridge isn't even half-closed, can't you just let us in? Besides, how can you tell us it's dangerous when we're still out here?!" She

The loud clanking of the mechanism was their only answer, and the two children watched in equal parts horror and disbelief as the drawbridge slammed closed insultingly slowly.

"You dirty rotten Moblin in a human suit! You'd better start praying to Nayru to make up for whatever you've done to offend her!" Maria shouted into the silence of the night, stomping her foot and trying not to slip on the churned mud of the river bank. Link reached out to steady her, hauling her away from the drawbridge.

The last tendrils of sunlight were leaving sky now, and Maria shivered at the sudden chill that wracked her.

"I suppose we should make camp," she mumbled, turning away from the enticing lights of the town only the other side of the river.

Link nodded, scuffing the path with the tip of his boot. "Can we go over there?" He pointed to a thick copse of trees not far from the river. They were so exposed out here, he'd feel much safer surrounded by a forest, even if it was a tiny one.

"Good idea, Hero," Maria smiled thinly. They walked briskly to the thicket, which was no more than five minutes from the drawbridge. "Do you want to camp down here or up in a tree?" She asked absentmindedly, heading over to the trunk of the closest tree.

"Here's fine," Link sighed, flopping down unceremoniously. "Hopefully we're close enough to see when they open the bridge from here."

"Yeah, I think we should be able to," Maria nudged him gently, sitting quietly next to him.

Link glanced at her. "You know, this isn't exactly what I was expecting when the Great Deku Tree sent me on a grand quest."

Maria ran a hand through her hair, shaking it free of the tangles of her braid. She flung herself backwards, staring straight up at the leafy canopy above them. "Yeah, tell me about-"

Her scream was ear-splitting, and Link leapt to his feet, clumsily drawing his sword. "Maria?"

"Oh my- goddesses, get it off me!" She yelped, thrashing on the floor.

Link squinted but he couldn't see what was going on - the thick canopy didn't let any of the bright moonlight through.

With an awful crack that Link imagined was the sound of her breaking back, Maria stopped struggling.

"Maria!" he yelled, falling back to his knees to study her. She was eerily still, eyes closed and face frozen in a pained expression. "No," he whispered, reaching out with a shaking hand to touch her.

"Oi," she grumbled, swatting his hand away. "Thanks for the help, _Hero_."

Maria got to her feet with a groan, and Link could see that clutched in her hand was a pile of small white sticks.

"What in Hyrule happened?" He scowled, sheathing his sword. She held her hand to his face and he reeled back with a shriek. "Is that-?" He ducked his head to examine her hand. "Is that a skeleton?" He whispered furiously, his sword once again in his hand.

"Look out!" the yell of Navi brought their attention to a skeletal figure clawing its way out of the ground.

They scrambled backwards until their backs were pressed up against a tree, holding their weapons out in front of them with shaking arms.

"What the hell is that?" The skeleton made a swipe for them, and as Link batted it away Maria felt the bones in her hand begin to shake and judder.

"Er," she grimaced, holding on tightly, "I don't know, but I think it's come back for its hand."

Link and Maria glanced at each other, and with a nod, Maria chucked the bones she was holding at the creature's face and ran.

They crashed through the undergrowth together, leaving the walking skeleton "-Stalchild!" Navi helpfully added- behind.

Looking behind them to make sure they weren't being followed, they escaped into the open, dodging behind a particularly large tree trunk to get out of sight.

"I think," Maria panted, hands on her knees, "I think we lost it."

Link said nothing, and without warning she felt him pushing her back toward the copse with his shield, eyes wide with fright.

"What-? Hey!" She leapt up and over his back to avoid the splintered wood of his shield. "What's your problem, Link?" she hissed, hands on her hips.

"Maria," Link waved his sword exasperatedly, "look at what's out there!"

She turned to see, and let out a scream, dodging back behind the shield. The grassy field was covered in piles of dirt as far as the eye could see, scattered around like molehills. White bones were illuminated in the moonlight, some only visible as hands, scrabbling at the dirt to claw the attached body free, other were entire skeletons ambling toward them, skulls chattering, vivid red lights glowing within their empty eye sockets.

"If I ever see that guard again-" Maria took out her staff and swung it as hard as she could, knocking the head clean off one that got too close.

"-I'm going-" Her foot sunk deep into one of the soft piles of freshly dug earth, and she narrowly avoided toppling into Link and his sword. She regained her balance in time to send a kick at a group of three that were closing in on them.

"-to murder him!" Her foot cleared all three of the stalchildren and sent bones scattering across the earth like bits of confetti.

Behind her, Link was slashing at the ground, dismantling the hands coming out of the soil near their feet.

"Tree?" Link yelped, jumping over grasping hands.

"Yep!" Maria turned tail and ran past him, snagging his collar as she went. At least the thick trees prevented quite so many from appearing, and their way was relatively clear as they made their way to a tree thick enough to hold both of them and smooth enough that the stalchildren couldn't follow.

"Grab onto me and jump when I do!" Maria yelled, crouching in the dirt. Link quickly sheathed his sword and did as she asked, gripping her tightly by the shoulders.

Maria grunted with the effort and launched herself off the ground, feeling herself slam into Link before he managed to jump. Where usually she would be able to scale the tree with ease, Link hung off her like a dead weight, gripping her in an unfortunate chokehold.

"Loosen up please!" She choked out, face turning red with the strain of hauling him up. From the corner of her eye, she could see little Navi gripping the collar of Link's tunic and straining to haul him upwards herself, though she wasn't achieving much more than also choking Link.

They ascended the smooth trunk at a snail's pace, and it was with great relish that Maria finally dropped the two of them on a thick branch, gasping for air.

"Thanks, Navi," she laughed, shoving Link off her back. The two children gripped the tree tightly while they calmed down, peering down at the ground to watch the stalchildren clatter around.

"Thanks," Link finally sighed, leaning back on the branch.

"No problem," Maria glanced over at him and smiled tiredly, "what are friends for?"

* * *

**AN: Hoo boy, sorry about the delay on this; it actually got so long that I chopped it in half, so you can expect another long one soon! Let me know what you thought of any of my additions/changes, or what you want to see in the future! :)**


End file.
